Love comes
by The Dark Angel Michael
Summary: It's the end of senior year for the Eds and it's time for them to focus on the future. Edd knows what he wants and he's going after it.


This is a big difference from what I normaly write so I apologize but I have no choice but to write this. It's been a monkey on my back for a while and I need to get rid of it. (Yay! Monkey reference!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Ed Edd and Eddy.

When did it start?

I don't honestly know. It wasn't something that just happened but neither was it something I planned. Maybe something about her changed or maybe I changed; it doesn't really matter though, not to me anyway. Eddy might mind if he found out but he was always the most overdramatic of our small group. He's held firm in his distaste for the Kankers all the way through high school. Ed wouldn't care; he'd probably support me if he knew. Though I expect nothing less from him.

He's got more heart than muscle and he's the most built person in our graduating class.

They're the closest friends I have, they're my brothers, so I really hope that they can learn to live with my choice. It would kill me to have to choose and I know I wouldn't choose them.

Marie is my life now.

**(Present time)**

I walked the halls slowly, knowing that I wouldn't be late. I'd normaly be rushing but luckily my English AP class got out early. It was a truly rare event for any of the Advance Placement classes to end early so I wasn't going to ruin it but wasting the energy to run down the hall to Physics. It wouldn't hurt me to be late, not at all; I had perfect attendance and straight A's and all my teachers adore me.

I've worked hard to be the perfect student and my effort hasn't been missed.

"Double D!"

I knew the tone Eddy was using it was the 'I've got an idea and I need your brain' tone that he'd taken to using in the past year. Scams, like we used to do, were pointless nowadays. Eddy hit the jackpot in a very literal sense. As soon as he was able to, he started playing the lottery, and at first his luck sucked. That changed a month before school started though when he won.

A hundred million. Of course that was before taxes. He was still rich though and through him, me and Ed were. We didn't act like it though, we hardly used any more money than we had before, and we didn't get any press coverage of Eddy reciveing the check.

Between the three of us and Eddy's parents we kept the win on the down low. Most of the adults in knew but we managed to keep it from our generation. Ed, in all his movie watching genius, had all but cried when Eddy said he wanted to announce it. He yelled that he didn't want people acting differently because the Ed's suddenly had money. Eddy couldn't tell him no and here we are. Millionaire teenagers and nobody knows.

"What is it Eddy?" I asked as he stopped in front of me, Ed right on his tail.

"How much would it cost to build a car from scratch?" he asked excitedly.

"Well that depends, Eddy, are we the ones building it. Are we using new, or already used, parts? Are…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He said, interrupting my list of factors that would affect the price. "I'm asking for an estimate?"

The internet could give them a better answer than I could but that wouldn't stop them from coming to me. "A couple thousand dollars." I said dryly. "But why are we building a car?" I wondered, knowing he wasn't asking for somebody else. He was talking about us. Not that I'd mind building one but it still interested me. We all had cars. Ed had gotten his from his Father when he bought a new one and I'd bought one with my collage funds.

I no longer needed them after Eddy said he'd pay for everything as long as I went to a local college. It was his way of keeping his friends close and I didn't mind in the least.

"I wanna learn how ta build one." Ed said loudly. "And Eddy said we'd talk to you."

A quick glance at one of the clocks told me I had to hurry or be late to class. I looked back at Eddy. "I'll meet you at Ed's house after I get off work, we'll figure it out there, Okay." I told them. Ed smiled wildly and nodded before he and Eddy set off the P.E.

Physics went by quickly. There was a test today that I apparently forgot about, not that it surprised me much; I passed it anyway. I may have missed one or two of the questions but I got both five point extra credit essays.

School wasn't a chore for me like it was for the some people. I find it fun, an escape from reality. My reality isn't bad, I enjoy it greatly, but I enjoy the time where I can focus purely on studies. I rarely have time for it outside school.

I work at a local grocery store during the weekdays. For Ed and Eddy work is a waste of time because they feel they already have enough money. Eddy does anyway and he's more than willing to let Ed mooch off him. While I feel the same way I like to have my own source of money. I hardly use it for anything other than gas money so it builds up quickly.

"Eddward!" My manager yelled when I walked into the brake room to grab my dark grey work polo. I unbuttoned and pulled off my navy blue dress shirt and pulled the polo over my white muscle shirt. I wasn't mister muscle but I still filled the shirt nicely.

"Mr. McHalen." I said back as I clipped my nametag onto my shirt.

"Jennifer can't come in this Saturday, can you fill in?" He asked. Normaly I'd say yes, overtime meant more money, and McHalen knew it. I was always the first person he asked. Saturday was a bad day though.

"I can't this weekend. I'm going to be out of town from Friday till Sunday."

His eyebrows rose slightly at my excuse and I knew what he was thinking. Me and my manager weren't close but I knew that he liked to know about his employees lives. It was somewhat of a bother considering he knew the only reason I ever asked for days off.

"Have fun then." He said quietly, his voice tense, like he was restraining a laugh.

I smiled slightly before heading into the storage room to get the first cart of random foods to restock the shelves.

I was definitely going to have fun.

**(Weekend)**

Ed ended up changing his mind and lost interest in the car bit when I announced that there was a Sci-fi monster movie marathon going to be on for the next few days. It saved us money and it amused me for the rest of the School week. Right now I was busy though.

"Tent, pillows, food…" I checked each part of my trunk. I wasn't much of a camper but I couldn't say no to a weekend alone with Marie.

I loaded everything necessary and then got into the unnecessary bits. I really didn't bring anything much, a book, a present, and a few other items. The book would be for the time while Marie slept. I knew she wouldn't be able to stay up with me, she never could. I'd developed an interesting case of insomnia sophomore year and I've had it since. Most of my friends know about it and I know Ed worries about me not sleeping but I enjoy it.

I sleep every now and then, not for more than two hours at a time though. It's surprising how much you can do when you spend most of your time awake. Most people don't truly understand how much time they lose spending eight hours asleep every night but I learned that, and many other things, in my time awake.

"You got everything nature boy." Eddy asked as he walked around my car.

"Yeah I think so." I said as I check everything once more before look up to him. "Are you sure you and Ed don't want to go?" My cover story was I was going on a Nature trip. I'd be doing lots of hiking and plant cataloging. Of course neither of them was the slightest bit interested in that.

Eddy shook his head. "Not a chance. We ain't missing Kevin's party for the 'ever so amusing' plant party." He said with a laugh. "You got an invite too if you wanna go."

"Not a chance." I copied lightly.

He smiled as he slapped his hand to my shoulder. "Don't get lost out there." he said as he turned to go back to his car. Ed was in the passenger seat waving at me. I waved back after I shut the trunk.

"I'll see you guys Sunday."

"Bye Double D!" Ed Yelled as Eddy pulled out of the drive way.

"See yah Sockhead." Eddy said before heading off. I grinned as I readjusted my beanie on my head. I hadn't heard that name in a while.

I took a moment to check myself before I got into the car. I was wearing Khaki shorts that went just past my knees and a red T-shirt. I thought to wear boots but I changed my mind after I checked the weather for the weekend. A clear sky and warm weather. I personally prefer the cold but you can't exactly camp comfortably in the winter.

With a satisfied sigh I turned the key and set out.

We tried hard to keep our relationship secret. It originated from our time in Jr. High when the Kankers and the Ed's were mortal enemies… well, they were our mortal enemies all they wanted was our affection. Me and Marie got together after a tutoring session. A cliché as is it our relationship started with me being her tutor. We both knew that Lee and May would want Ed and Eddy if they found out about us. We didn't know what they would do to get them so we kept ourselves secret.

That's what we told ourselves anyway. I've long since realized that we both enjoyed the thrill of running around behind their backs and the rush of almost getting caught as we had several times. I know that eventually we'll have to come out and I've brought it up before. She smiled and told me that we'd deal with that when it happened and she doubted that it would change anything other than the fact that we'd have to have a stronger reason to be alone together for our trips or stays at hotels.

I pulled into the Wal-Mart. It was a mile away from the highway that led to the park we camped at. The Wal-Mart itself was where I was going to pick her up.

"Hello Eddward."

I glanced over at her, noting her freshly cut hair and normal attire. A black tank top and a green pair of cargo shorts. "Hello Koishii." I responded quietly as she slipped into the passenger seat. She accepted my foreign reference easily. At first she complemented my knowledge of Japanese, knowing herself that Koishii meant beloved, but she quickly learned that I wasn't playing around when I called her it. "So what did you tell your sisters?"

A smirk claimed her face as she brushed her hair to the right, successfully covering her right eye completely.

"I told them I was going out with a group of tree hugging activists who were set on protecting the forest."

"Horrifying." I said as I faked a shiver.

She laughed as she leaned over and pressed her lips to mine briefly. "It truly is." She whispered, her lips centimeters from mine, the joy never leaving her voice. She leaned back into her seat and threw her backpack into the backseat. "Ready to go?"

"Yep. I've got everything in the trunk."

"Well what are we waiting for?" she asked sweetly as she patted my leg.

I shook my head and started off. It wouldn't take more than an hour to get there. I listened to her talk about how May had set her sights on becoming a nurse and that Lee was already going working through collage to become a computer programmer. Marie wanted to be an editor and she had to skill to back it up. She was in my AP English class and she was among the top of us in there. She was already applying for an American Literature major at the community college.

College was the main focus of our conversations nowadays considering that it right around the corner. I personally wanted to be writer which was a perfect match with Marie.

"Soooo… Double D… What did you have planned for this weekend?" she asked quietly. She ran her hand up my leg as she asked, knowing fully what we were going to do this weekend. I swerved slightly when she actually grabbed my crotch.

I laughed nervously as I refocused on driving. "I was thinking about spending today drawing." I told her. "I haven't drawn you since February." That was when we first started dating. I placed my hand over hers and pressed it fully against my growing erection. "And you weren't naked then." I added.

"No, I wasn't, and I still have that picture. I'm guessing you're going to be keeping this one though."

"Indeed."

She laughed before pulling her hand back. I faked a pout immediately which only encouraged her laughter. "Focus on the road, Edd; I'll play with you when we're not at risk of crashing."

"Cause we haven't risked that before." I murmured.

"What was that?" she asked in an all too polite voice.

"Nothing at all, love, just remembering something." I answered quickly. A little too quietly, I knew, but I also knew she was just playing around.

It ended up taking a little more than an hour to get there, longer than I'd predicted, but I hardly noticed. Marie distracted me enough for time to simply fly. "Go sign us in." I said as I unloaded the trunk, "I'll get everything set up here."

"Kay. Be back in a sec." She said as she leaned over my crouched form, pulled my beanie back slightly, and kissed my forehead. A smile grew on my face as she walked away. I wasn't truly a camper, not really anyway, so it took me a little while to get the tent set up and staked in. I pulled the rain fly over it once it was up. It wasn't going to rain but I liked privacy while I was bare and I didn't want anyone but me to see Marie.

I set up the oversized sleeping bag and placed the pillows at the head of the bag.

"Ohhhhh, so bold. Are you sure I want to share a bag with you? Hmmm?" Marie asked from behind me.

I smirked as I leaned my head back, letting it fall between her breasts. She was leaned over perfectly for it. "You think this is bold?" I asked. I looked up form my spot to see her nod. "What do you call this then?" I twisted quickly, grabbing her waist and pulling her into the tent. I laid her down gently, despite the speed I did it at, and slammed my lips to hers. She pressed her torso to mine as she opened her mouth, letting my tongue slide in.

It was bliss in a kiss, as I called it, and Marie was the only person I'd ever experienced it with. I pushed her hair away from her eye, revealing the right half of her face. A pink scar ran from right under her eye to above her eyebrow. Her beautiful cobalt eye was dimmed, a childhood accident as she told me. I kissed her eye lid lightly enjoying the way the tension that had appeared in her body when I moved her hair vanished.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and twisted us so she was on top. I suppressed the groan I felt coming as she began to grind against me. "What happened to drawing?" I asked playfully as she began to trail her way down my neck.

"Well," She started, "I've still got clothes on. I thought we could get those off first. I'm feeling lazy though. Mhh," she moaned slightly when my hand found her covered breast; I couldn't suppress the grin when I felt no bra. "I thought you could take them off for me."

I nibbled slightly at her neck, loving the way she held my head there. "I think I can manage that." I breathed.

My hands found the hem of her tank top quickly. There was no point in wasting time and I never tried. Foreplay was fun but I hated the idea of playing with clothes during it. I pulled her shirt off quickly and pressed my lips back to hers as soon as it was on the ground. I trailed my lips down her body slowly, savoring every moan and mew she made as I kissed, sucked, and nibbled at the sensitive flesh.

"Stop teasing me." She murmured as I trailed my tongue along her waistline.

With a smile I undid her shorts and pulled them down her legs. "Purple?" I asked when I eyed her thong. I'd never seen this particular one and I knew purple wasn't one of her favorite colors.

"May didn't do the laundry. It was one of my only clean pairs."

I laughed lightly before slipping my hand under the waistband and pulling them down as well. "Hello there." I said before kissing the hairless skin above her slit. I trailed my tongue over her, tasting her. It always held a bittersweet taste that I didn't exactly like. It was bearable though and it didn't stop me from licking her. "Double Deeeee." She whined in one of the more feminine voices I've heard from her.

"So impatient." I smiled despite my comment and rammed my finger into her. I slid up her body instantly and pushed my tongue into her mouth as she gasped. I could taste her juices and our saliva mixing as we wrestled in her mouth.

I continued to finger her as I used my free hand to undress myself, only stopping and breaking our kiss to take off my shirt. I'd perfected the art of undressing with one hand ages ago but it didn't seem a useful skill at the time; it is now. Unfortunately, I couldn't open my wallet, grab a condom, open the package and put it on with one hand. It took me a moment to get that set.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." She breathed before urging my hips forward.

I groaned as I slid into her. No scam, no A, absolutely nothing compared to the feeling of Marie's inner muscles tightening around me as I thrust into her. If her kiss was bliss then this was surly heaven and I could die happy. Every movement sent electric through my body and elicited a moan of pleasure from my lover. I never made much noise during sex but Marie made enough for both of us and it usually turned me on. Today was no exception.

"Eddward." She moaned into my neck, "I'm cuming!" she all but screamed.

I wasn't though. I continued to thrust into her, my pace never faltering. She clamped around my erection though, as her muscles unconsciously tightened, and the added pressure brought me to the edge. My entire body tensed as my sperm filled the condom. A small part of me wished that we didn't need the condom but it was overruled by the fact that we were still in high school and while my life with Eddy may be set, hers wasn't. her job required collage time and despite my claims of being able to take care of a child she stated firmly that she wanted to wait untill she finished collage.

"I love you Eddward." She murmured.

"And I you."

I released a sigh of pleasure as she kissed my chest. It was serene and almost perfect. "I have to close the tent." I said quietly as I looked out the open flap at the clear sky. We were in privet enough section of the park but I still wanted it closed.

"Hurry."

The rest of the day was a blur. Between eating, love, and simple lounging the day passed quickly. She fell asleep above the sleeping bag when night fell and using the small electric lantern I brought I illuminated the tent enough to see her form completely. Pencils, shades, and color depth occupied my night as I worked to capture her sleeping form on paper. I took special care with each line and each motion I made not wanting to ruin the art.

Each angle and each curve of her perfect figure worked me till dawn, which came faster that I'd actually realized. I added something special that wasn't actually there and I tucked away my present, hiding it for when she found it in the picture.

She didn't wake till noon and by then I'd hid my picture away in the car.

The day was spent perfectly, in my opinion anyway. We talked for over an hour after she woke up about absolutely nothing yet we were never bored. After that she convinced me to be the nature boy my friends believed me to be and 'explore' the wild. Plants may not be my specialty but I still think we ended up in poison ivy. The only thing missing is the itch though I'm sure it'll come eventually.

"You never did draw me." She said as we sat in the car, on the way back home.

"Look in your back pack." I said, a smile forming on my face.

She turned around in her seat instantly and pulled her pack into the front. "Oh my." She whispered when she found the picture. "When did yo…" I glanced over to see her half hearted glare in my direction. "You didn't sleep last night, did you?"

I smiled at her and shook my head. "I was too busy with that."

I heard her sigh, "It's beautiful."

My smile grew at the compliment. "Look at it closer tonight." I told her.

"Why."

"Now, now," I said as I shook my head, "that would ruin the surprise. Just look and come find me when you see it."

She departed at the same Wal-Mart I picked her up in. a quick kiss bye and an exchanged 'I love you' was all we shared before she left. I watched her leave for a moment, enjoying the way she added just that much more sway in her hips.

**(Tuesday)**

I moved quickly down the hallway. Today I was unfortunate enough to have to rush to make it on time. "Double D." my English teacher addressed me when I rushed into the room, barely making the bell.

My seat was in the back, furthest away from the teacher. The room was organized from front to back in order of the best students and those that were more likely to be rowdy. Of course this was an AP class so we all got the work done but Mrs. Showner still kept them organized.

"Eddward." I looked to the girl next to me. Alex, I think, but I never really paid attention to those that weren't part of my assigned groups. "This is for you." It was the picture, I knew it the instant I saw it.

I suddenly lost all interest in what my teacher was saying. It unrolled easily after I untied the blue band that Marie had obviously tied around it. I turned sideways in my chair so that my back was facing the wall as I unrolled it completely. I didn't exactly want people to see my portrayal of my naked girlfriend. There were no differences in the actual drawing itself but I could see the indentations of a pen in it. I placed it upside down on my desk and pulled my books over half of it so I could read what Marie had written on the back.

'I found something. I don't know if it's what you wanted me to find so I'm not going to say what it is. I will say I want to see you though, as soon as possible. After school soon. I don't care who sees.'

'I don't either.' I thought before glancing forward to Marie. She was facing the bored, copying what Mrs. Showner wrote. I truly wasn't paying attention.

The lunch bell rang a half hour into the class and I'd never been more relieved. I couldn't bare the tension and even in lunch with Eddy and Ed's antics amusing me I still felt stiff. Ed seemed to notice.

"What's wrong Double D?" He asked. I reached back to itch my shoulder. I was right when I'd guessed we rolled into poison ivy and I partialy wondered if she was feeling the effects.

"Nothing at all." I answered. "I got poison ivy this weekend and it's been bothering me." Eddy gave me a weird look but I just smiled and continued eating. Ed accepted the answer and he rejoined the conversation.

Much to my annoyance lunch ended all too quickly and my brief reprieve with the Ed's ended with it.

I could only think about three things the rest of the day. One, what people would say when they saw me and Marie after school. I didn't particularly care but it fascinated me how quickly word could spread throughout the school.

Two, what Marie would say when I met her. I could hope and pray but it ultimately came down to her and while I felt that I knew her well enough to predict her reaction I knew that I was normaly wrong when It came to her unpredictable nature. It was one of the many things I loved about her; the inability to guess what she would do.

My life was so structured that having her gave balance to it.

The final thing was probably the most inconsequential but I couldn't force it from my mind. It was the simple fact that my musing were giving me possibly the worst school day I'd ever had. I guess that I could pawn it off as it just being an off day, everyone had them, and move on with it but I knew that my teachers would probably hear the news as fast as the students; they'd probably help pass it along.

Still, my day was slow and when the final bell rang butterflies erupted in my stomach. I was going to see Marie in less than five minutes. In less than five minutes the entire school would know about our relationship. I took a shaky breath as I stood up from my chair.

In less than five minutes I'd know if she wanted to be my wife.

High school lovers had less than a thirty percent chance of working out in the long run but all I could really think about was my grandparents. In their seventies they're still together, still in love, and they married at sixteen. I'm eighteen so for once I'm ignoring the statistics and going on gut feeling. I see that love can last and frankly… that's all I need.

"Kanker alert." Eddy whispered when he saw Marie leaning against my car, which was parked next to his.

"Indeed." The small velvet case was in my bag and inside of it the expensive ring I'd bought. I'd added the ring to the picture and luckily her left hand was more visible than her right in it. I was suddenly very aware of how my heart was beating faster and my palms were starting to sweat.

I was nervous. There was no use denying it.

"What do you want, Kanker?" I heard Eddy say as he stepped in front of me and Ed. Ed voiced his agreement but I could tell that she wasn't hearing them. Her visible eye was focused on me just as mine were on her.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ear and I could feel the butterflies swarming my gut. It was like riding a rollercoaster for the first time and being horribly afraid of heights.

"Yes."

The butterflies vanished and my heart rate seemed to drop instantly. The heart rate drop probably wasn't good but I could still feel joy filling me.

"Huh?" Was Eddy's genius response.

"Y-yes?" I said, drawing Eddy's attention. "You understand the question."

"Yes." She said, louder this time, as she smiled. All my worry was gone in that instant as she pushed passed Eddy and threw herself against me. "Yes. Yes. Yes!" My arms wrapped around her as I picked her up, spinning her around before kissing her.

"God I love you." I said when we separated.

"What's happening?"

"I have no idea, Ed, but I'm sure Double D will explain."

Ed and Eddy's short back and forth drew my gaze away from Marie. "I've been dating Marie for a year and three months, since last February." I told them my smile never leaving. "And since the school years almost over and we're going to graduate I… I asked her to marry me."

They were quiet for a while and I felt Marie's grip on me tighten slightly in a show of support. Ed's face resigned first and I could see his happiness behind his smile. Eddy just looked amused though I expected nothing less from him really.

"So, Sockhead, When's the wedding?"

**(Break)**

The wedding was in September and the honeymoon was in Hawaii. I protested the destination at first because I wanted somewhere colder but I eventually gave up my argument. She wanted Hawaii and I could brave the heat for twelve days for her happiness.

It's been four years since then and I don't regret a single decision we've made yet.

Eddy bought a larger house for him and Ed right out of High school and with me and Marie's joint funds we bought the house next to it. Eddy didn't get us anything for our wedding, saying that it was a surprise for later and it truly was. He paid for Marie's collage time as well. It's what allowed us to buy the house and worry less about money problems.

Marie worked part time as a waitress in one of the restaurants in town. I'm pleased to say that I've moved up the ladder in my job. After I graduated and got back from my honeymoon I went to work fulltime and I rose through the positions quickly. With my mind, effort, and work ethic I became the store manager two years out of school. It pays quite well and I plan on keeping it. My plan to build a family hasn't changed and money is needed for that.

I write in my free time and Marie uses it as practice for when she becomes an editor so neither of our dreams has died though Marie is more actively perusing hers.

When I look back and ask myself what happened to my life only one word comes to mind.

Marie.

And that's when I smile and go to find her so I can tell her I love her again because that's what my life is now. My life is sometimes difficult, everyone's is, but my life has love. Friends, family, and Marie. That's all I need.

**(End)**

That's it. I've wanted to write it for a while but I couldn't think of a way to but I finally did so enjoy.

Peace Out!


End file.
